LOUISIANA, one of the gulf states of the American Union, and the fifth admitted under the federal constitution, situated between lat. 28° 59' and 33° N., and lon. 88° 40' and 94° 10' W.; extreme length E. and W. about 300 m., extreme width N. and S. 240; area, 41,346 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Arkansas (on the parallel of 33°) and Mississippi (on the parallel of 31°); E. by the gulf of Mexico and Mississippi, from which above lat. 31° it is separated by the Mississippi river, and below that parallel by Pearl river; S. by the gulf of Mexico; and W. by Texas, from which through the southern two thirds of the line it is separated by the Sabine river and lake.
State Seal of Louisiana.
Louisiana is divided into 57 parishes (corresponding to the counties of other states), viz.: Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Carroll, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupée, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, Winn. There are seven incorporated cities, viz.: New Orleans (pop. in 1870, 191,418), the capital and commercial centre of the state, on the Mississippi, about 100 m. from the sea; Baton Rouge (pop. 6,498), the former capital, on the E. bank, 129 m. above New Orleans; Shreveport (pop. 4,607), on the Red river, in the N. W. part of the state; Carrollton and Kenner, near New Orleans; Monroe, on the Washita, in the N. part of the state; and Natchitoches, on the Red river, below Shreveport. Abbeville, Alexandria, Bastrop, Brashear City, Clinton, Covington, Delhi, Donaldsonville, Franklin, Houma, Jackson, Mandeville, Mansfield, Minden, New Iberia, Opelousas, Plaquemines, St. Martinsville, Thibodeaux, Vermilionville, and Washington are towns having each more than 500 inhabitants.—The population of the state in 1810 and at subsequent decennial periods was as follows:
| U. S. CENSUS. | White. | Free colored. |
Slaves. | Total. |
| 1810 | 34,311 | 7,585 | 34,660 | 76,556 |
| 1820 | 73,383 | 10,476 | 69,064 | 153,407 |
| 1830 | 89,441 | 16,710 | 109,588 | 215,739 |
| 1840 | 158,457 | 25,502 | 168,452 | 352,411 |
| 1850 | 255,491 | 17,462 | 244,809 | 517,762 |
| 1860 | 357,456 | 18,647 | 331,726 | 708,002 |
| 1870 | 362,065 | 364,210 | .... | 726,915 |
Included in the last total are 71 Chinese and 569 Indians. In aggregate population Louisiana ranks 21st among the states, the gain since 1860 being 2.67 per cent.; in white population, 27th, gain 1.29 per cent.; in colored population, 7th, gain 3.95 per cent. Of the total population in 1870, 665,088 were native and 61,827 foreign born; 362,165 were males and 364,750 females. Of the natives, 501,864 were born in the state, 31,628 in Mississippi, 30,033 in Virginia and West Virginia, 20,446 in Alabama, 15,969 in Georgia, 10,838 in South Carolina, 8,320 in Kentucky, 7,283 in North Carolina, 6,864 in Tennessee, 6,486 in Maryland, 4,709 in Texas, 3,913 in New York, 3,747 in Arkansas, 2,925 in Missouri, 1,698 in Pennsylvania, 1,499 in Ohio, and 1,497 in Florida. Of persons born in the state, 63,133 were living in other states and territories. Of the foreigners, 18,933 were born in Germany, 17,068 in Ireland, 12,341 in France, 2,811 in England, 1,889 in Italy, 1,772 in Cuba and other West India islands, and 1,130 in Spain. Of the colored, 307,610 were blacks and 56,600 mulattoes. There were 159,007 citizens of the United States 21 years old and upward. The number of families was 158,099, with an average of 4.6 persons to each; of dwellings, 150,427, with an average of 4.83 persons to each. There were 257,184 persons 10 years old and over unable to read; 276,158 were unable to write, of whom 268,773 were natives and 7,385 foreigners, 23,888 white males and 26,861 white females, 109,463 colored males and 115,530 colored females; 46,878 were between 10 and 15 years of age, 45,227 between 15 and 21, and 183,637 were 21 years old and over. Of the last number, 12,048 were white males and 76,612 colored males. There were 447 blind persons, 197 deaf and dumb, 451 insane, and 286 idiotic. The number of persons convicted of crimes during the year was 1,559; number of paupers supported, 590. There were 256,452 persons 10 years old and over (198,168 males and 58,284 females) returned as engaged in occupations, of whom 141,467 were employed in agriculture, 65,347 in professional and personal services, 23,831 in trade and transportation, and 25,807 in manufactures and mechanical and mining industries. Among the special industries represented were: agricultural laborers, 97,783; farmers and planters, 41,672; domestic servants, 26,833; laborers, 25,525; clergymen, 404; lawyers, 663; physicians and surgeons, 939; teachers, 1,570; traders and dealers, 7,797; clerks, salesmen, &c., 7,157; carmen, draymen, &c., 2,021; sailors, steamboatmen, &c., 2,176; blacksmiths, 1,483; boot and shoe makers, 1,594; masons and stone cutters, 1,135; butchers, 1,110; carpenters and joiners, 4,578; coopers, 1,141; painters and varnishers, 1,020; tailors, tailoresses, and seamstresses, 2,559. Among the descendants of the French settlers in many portions of the state French is still the vernacular.—The surface of the state is generally low and level. In the S. part nearly one fourth of it lies but 10 ft. above the sea, and is liable to frequent inundations from freshets in the rivers. Much of the delta of the Mississippi is occupied by swamps, and the coast is lined with extensive salt marshes. N. of these, on the W. of the Mississippi, are vast level prairies, having but little greater elevation. The W. margin of that river is also low, intersected by numerous streams, and liable to inundation. N. and W. of these two tracts is a region occupying about half of the state, somewhat broken and diversified by low hilly ranges, nowhere rising above 200 ft. The E. corner of the state, lying between the Mississippi and Pearl rivers and Lake Pontchartrain and the state of Mississippi, resembles the region last described in its general features. In ascending the Mississippi, the E. bank first rises to form a natural barrier a few feet above the highest level of the river, at Baton Rouge; at Port Hudson, 25 m. further up, the bluffs are nearly 100 ft. high; and at Natchez they attain a height of 200 ft. Below Baton Rouge on both banks, and on the W. bank throughout the state, the country requires to be protected by levees. More than 1,500 m. of these have been built on the Mississippi, the Red, the Lafourche, the Atchafalaya, the Black, and the Washita rivers, and on numerous important bayous, at great cost. Occasionally they burst, and great damage is caused by the overflow. One of the most extensive inundations ever known was occasioned by crevasses in the levees in the spring of 1874, when in Louisiana alone 31 parishes were wholly or partially overflowed. The damage to crops and property was very great, and thousands of the inhabitants were preserved from starvation only by the bounty of the government and the contributions of the benevolent.—Louisiana has a coast line of 1,256 m. on the gulf of Mexico. This includes the many irregular bays and other indentations, but not the islands belonging to the state, which have an aggregate coast line of 994 m. Toward the S. E. extremity lies Lake Borgne, which is properly a bay, communicating by two channels with Lake Pontchartrain, and opening into Mississippi sound. S. of Lake Borgne, and separated from it by the peninsula of St. Bernard parish, is Isle au Breton sound. Swan bay, Black bay, and Oyster bay are inlets of this sound. Bay Ronde and West bay lie on either hand of the delta of the Mississippi; and on the S. coast are Barataria, Timbalier, Terrebonne, Caillou, Atchafalaya, Côte-Blanche, and Vermilion bays. Although the entire coast except in the S. W. part is exceedingly irregular, there are not many good harbors. The Chandeleur islands, which lie opposite St. Bernard parish, S. of Mississippi sound, and E. of Isle au Breton sound, form a good roadstead. Besides numerous ponds and lagoons among the salt marshes which line the S. shores, there are some considerable lakes, most of which are expansions of the rivers. Of these, the principal are Caddo, Soda, Cross, Bodeau, Bistineau, Wallace's, Canisnia, Bayou Pierre, Spanish, and Black, in the northwest; Jatt and Catahoula, S. E. of these; Calcasieu, Mermenteau, Chetimaches (or Grand), and Verret, in the south; and Des Allemands, Washa, Maurepas, and Pontchartrain, in the southeast. The last two are expansions of the Amite river.—The state is abundantly supplied with large rivers. The Mississippi, navigable far beyond its limits, forms the N. half of the E. boundary, and then entering the state crosses it in a S. E. direction to the gulf of Mexico, its mouth forming a delta. About 800 m. of its course belong wholly or in part to Louisiana. It begins to send off branches to the gulf on the west near the point where it enters the state; the Atchafalaya river is the first, and the entire region between it and the main stream may be said to belong to the delta. Among other deltoid streams are Grand river and Bayou de Large, connected with the Atchafalaya, Bayou Terrebonne, and Bayou Lafourche. These are mostly navigable throughout at high water. Bayou Teche, navigable at high water, empties into the Atchafalaya from the west, and by means of Bayou Bœuf is connected with Red river above Alexandria. E. of the Mississippi the principal streams are the Amite (navigable by small steamers for 60 m.) and the Tickfaw, which flow from Mississippi into Lake Maurepas; the Tangipahoa and the Chifunctee, which discharge into Lake Pontchartrain; and the Bogue Chitto, which falls into the Pearl. The navigation of the Pearl is obstructed by sand bars and drift wood, but small boats ascend into Mississippi. In the S. W. part of the state are the Mermenteau and Calcasieu rivers, which rise by numerous branches in the prairie region S. W. of Red river, and after expanding into the lakes of the same names discharge into the gulf of Mexico. The Sabine receives numerous small tributaries from the east, and is navigable at high water in portions of its course by small boats. The Red river enters from Arkansas in the northwest, and joins the Mississippi near the outflowing of the Atchafalaya. The navigation of the Red river is somewhat obstructed at the mouth, but steamers ascend at all seasons to the falls at Alexandria, and during eight months of the year to Shreveport, above which the “great raft” has hitherto been a bar. This obstruction was removed by the United States government in 1873, but the effect of the removal upon navigation remains to be determined. The chief tributaries, which enter from the north, are the bayou Dauchite, which expands into Lake Bistineau; Black lake and Saline bayous, which unite before entering the Red river; Little river, which enters Catahoula lake; and Black river, formed by the confluence of the Washita and Tensas. Most of these are navigable by steamers, and the Washita, which rises in Arkansas, is navigable beyond the limits of the state.—Louisiana presents many features of geological interest. The only formations are the cretaceous, tertiary, and post-tertiary. The first underlies the whole state, but crops out only in the limestone hills of St. Landry and Winn parishes. It comes very near the surface at the salt wells in Bienville, Natchitoches, and Winn, and is the formation to which the sulphur of Calcasieu parish and the rock salt of Petit Anse belong. The tertiary presents the divisions which in Mississippi have been called the Jackson, Vicksburg, and Grand Gulf groups. The Jackson group occupies the N. W. portion of the state, except immediately along the Red river and one or two of its tributaries, as far E. as the Washita, and occurs in two isolated localities on the Arkansas border just E. of that stream. It consists of marine strata with the characteristic fossils, of lignitic beds, and of non-fossiliferous beds of laminated sands and clays. Gypsum, limestone, and iron ore occur. The Vicksburg group occupies a belt not more than 12 m. wide, S. of the Jackson, and running S. W. from the Washita river to the Sabine. It consists of smooth clays and clayey sands, full of marine fossils. Lignite and estuary beds occur in some localities, yellow and white limestone nodules are common, and iron ochre abounds. S. and S. W. of the Vicksburg is the Grand Gulf group, stretching in a widening belt from the Washita to the Texas border; it also occupies the N. portion of the region E. of the Mississippi. This group consists of massive clays, clay rocks, and sandstones generally of poor quality, with no organic remains except those of plants. The post-tertiary also, as in Mississippi, comprises the drift, the bluff, and the alluvial formations. The deposits of the drift period cover the formations already described, except parts of the Vicksburg group, and consist of various alternations of red and yellow sands and clays, with pebbles, generally flinty, but often of iron ore. The bluff formation, besides some isolated localities, occupies a considerable area in Franklin, Richland, and Carroll parishes in the northeast, as well as the region W. of Opelousas, lying S. of the Grand Gulf group and N. of the marshes. It also forms a belt just N. of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, stretching from near Pearl river to the Mississippi, thence up that river to the state line, enclosing the Grand Gulf group on the north and east. It consists chiefly of blue clays and fine sands, often containing shells of recent species, or of very fine grained, hard-pan clays of light buff or grayish color, varied in a few localities by a fine silt, sometimes calcareous, with snail shells. This formation is overlaid by yellow loam, consisting generally of a single layer of clayey silt, which also overlies much of the drift. The fossils are partly marine and partly terrestrial. The alluvium occupies the portion of the state not covered by the other formations, embracing the sea marshes, the delta of the Mississippi, and a strip N. of the delta along the W. bank, generally from 30 to 50 m. wide, with a narrow belt on either bank of Red river. The mineral productions of the state are of minor importance. At Petit Anse, in Iberia parish, there is a mass of pure rock salt, more than 144 acres in area and of unknown depth, which is successfully mined; and in Calcasieu parish are extensive deposits of sulphur and gypsum. The salt wells in Bienville, Natchitoches, and Winn parishes were worked during the civil war.—The climate in winter, owing to north winds, is more severe than in corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic coast. The summers are long and hot, and mephitic exhalations from the marshes in autumn generate malarial fevers. The mean temperature for the year ending Sept. 30, 1873, at New Orleans (lat. 29° 57'), was 67.55°; at Shreveport (lat. 32° 30'), 63.91°. The mean temperature of the warmest month at the former place was 82.4°; at the latter, 81.7°; of the coldest month, 49.5° and 42° respectively. The total rainfall for the year at New Orleans was 72.81 inches; at Shreveport, 46.77 inches. According to the census of 1870, the number of deaths in the state was 14,499, of which 5,498 were from general diseases, 1,949 from diseases of the nervous, 481 of the circulatory, 1,876 of the respiratory, and 2,128 of the digestive system, 667 from accidents and injuries, and the rest from miscellaneous causes. Of special diseases, consumption proved fatal in 1,991 cases, fevers in 1,128, pneumonia in 495, paralysis in 248, cancers in 186, cholera infantum in 179, encephalitis in 151, enteritis in 116, dropsy in 114, diarrhœa in 103, and apoplexy in 99.—The soil of the river bottoms is exuberantly fertile, and the alluvial land is easily drained. Most of it is heavily timbered, and covered with an undergrowth of cane. The prairies are not generally productive, and in some places are barren, but afford good grazing. The hilly region, while generally producing good crops of cotton, consists principally of pine barrens, yielding an abundance of pitch pine, and containing also oak, elm, cypress, honey locust, and other timber. Other forest trees are the sassafras, ash, walnut, hickory, poplar, mulberry, magnolia, cotton wood, buckeye, papaw, maple, willow, hackberry, pecan, dogwood, and persimmon. The wild cane grows to a height of 15 to 30 ft. Among fruits are the peach, quince, plum, fig, apple (in the north), orange, lemon, lime, &c.; the orange does not flourish above lat. 30°. The staples of agriculture are cotton, sugar, rice, and Indian corn. The rice and sugar are grown almost exclusively in the alluvial soil along the Mississippi, more than half of the rice crop of 1870 having been produced in the parish of Plaquemines. The sugar cane does not flourish above lat. 31°. Louisiana produces nearly all the sugar made in the United States, and in 1870 was third among the states in the yield of rice and fourth in the production of cotton. Sugar culture was introduced in 1751, but there are no reports of production till 1823. In 1828, 88,000 hhds. were manufactured; from that year to 1838 the crops varied from 30,000 to 100,000 hhds., thence to 1848 from 87,000 to 240,000 hhds., and in the 10 years ending with 1858 from 74,000 to 449,000 hhds. The production since 1860 has been as follows:
| YEAR. | Hhds. |
| 1860 | 228,753 |
| 1861 | 459,410 |
| 1862 | .... |
| 1863 | 76,801 |
| 1864 | 10,387 |
| 1865 | 18,070 |
| 1866 | 41,000 |
| 1867 | 37,647 |
| 1868 | 84,256 |
| 1869[1] | 87,090 |
| 1870 | 144,881 |
| 1871 | 128,461 |
| 1872 | 108,520 |
| 1873 | 89,498 |
- ↑ Corresponding nearly with the census year of 1870.
The yield is very uncertain; it formerly, says Champomier, reached as high as 3,000 or 4,000 lbs., and in some cases even 6,000 lbs. to the acre; but more recently it has often ranged as low as 500 to 1,000 lbs. The number of acres of improved farm land in 1870 was 2,045,640; number of farms, 28,481, of which 11,194 were under 20 acres, 8,854 from 20 to 50, 3,888 from 50 to 100, 3,753 from 100 to 500, 650 from 500 to 1,000, and 142 over 1,000 acres; cash value of farms, $68,215,421; of farming implements and machinery, $7,159,333; wages paid during the year, including value of board, $11,042,789; estimated value of all farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, $52,006,622; value of orchard products, $142,129; of produce of market gardens, $176,969; of forest products, $92,596; of home manufactures, $64,416; of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, $817,831; of live stock, $15,929,188. The productions were 9,906 bushels of wheat, 984 of rye, 7,596,628 of Indian corn, 17,782 of oats, 1,226 of barley, 260 of buckwheat, 26,888 of peas and beans, 67,695 of Irish potatoes, 1,023,706 of sweet potatoes, 15,854,012 lbs. of rice, 15,541 of tobacco, 140,428 of wool, 322,405 of butter, 11,747 of cheese, 2,363 of wax, 37,646 of honey, 350,832 bales of cotton, 578 gallons of wine, 833,928 of milk sold, 4,585,150 of cane molasses, 180 of sorghum molasses, 8,776 tons of hay, and 80,706 hogsheads of cane sugar. The live stock consisted of 59,738 horses, 61,338 mules and asses, 102,076 milch cows, 32,596 working oxen, 200,589 other cattle, 118,602 sheep, and 338,326 swine. There were besides 3,559 horses and 52,832 cattle not on farms.—The number of manufacturing establishments was 2,557, having 887 steam engines of 24,924 horse power, and 23 water wheels of 142 horse power; number of hands employed, 30,071, of whom 23,637 were males above 16, 4,210 females above 15, and 2,224 youth; capital invested, $18,313,974; wages paid, $4,593,470; value of materials, $12,412,023; of products, $24,161,905. The most important establishments, with the value of products, were: 204 of boots and shoes, $459,721; 98 of bread and bakery products, $875,261; 22 of bricks, $264,300; 45 of carriages and wagons, $200,280; 5 of cars, $368,730; 114 of clothing, $424,173; 89 of cooperage, $255,395; 4 of cotton goods, $251,550; 9 of drugs and chemicals, $248,125; 1 of fertilizers, $140,400; 248 of flouring and grist mill products, $726,287; 3 of gas, $862,172; 2 of ice, $250,000; 15 of iron castings, $552,470; 2 of distilled liquors, $100,960; 12 of malt liquors, $250,920; 8 of planed lumber, $431,000; 152 of sawed lumber, $1,212,037; 20 of machinery, $896,518; 686 of molasses and sugar, $10,341,858; 3 of refined molasses and sugar, $643,085; 6 of cotton-seed oil, $324,700; 48 of tobacco and cigars, $578,890; and 14 ship building and repairing establishments, $326,230.—Louisiana contains two customs districts, New Orleans and Teche (port of entry, Brashear City, formerly Franklin), and its commerce, carried on chiefly through New Orleans, is extensive and important. The value of imports from foreign countries for the year ending June 30, 1873, was $19,933,344; of exports to foreign ports, $104,926,000, of which $104,357,233 ($27,268 from Teche) represented domestic produce, and $568,767 foreign produce. The chief items of export were 1,147,376 bales of cotton, valued at $98,151,682; 24,065,296 lbs. of tobacco, $2,569,558; 960,324 bushels of Indian corn, $563,323; 36,327,583 lbs. of oil cake, $438,667; 55,738 barrels of flour, $407,453; hides and skins to the value of $353,438; 3,110,766 lbs. of lard, $257,337; 343,687 gallons of cotton-seed oil, $175,231. The entrances were 234 American vessels of 142,835 tons (Teche, 2 of 1,166 tons), and 507 foreign vessels of 381,122 tons; clearances, 267 American vessels of 192,599 tons (Teche, 1 of 1,187 tons), and 512 foreign vessels of 383,465 tons. The entrances and clearances in the coastwise trade, with the number, &c., of vessels belonging to each district, are shown in the following table:
| DISTRICTS. | Entrances. | Clearances. | Registered, enrolled, and licensed. | |||
| Vessels. | Tons. | Vessels. | Tons. | Vessels. | Tons. | |
| New Orleans | 472 | 300,879 | 533 | 300,104 | 594 | 97,122 |
| Teche | 41 | 43,124 | 41 | 37,907 | 67 | 4,965 |
| State | 513 | 344,003 | 574 | 338,011 | 661 | 102,087 |
Of the entrances, 305, of 271,766 tons, were steamers, and of the clearances, 348, of 288,787 tons; 213 of those registered, &c., with an aggregate tonnage of 63,974, were steamers, 437, of 36,934 tons, sailing vessels, and 11, of 1,179 tons, barges; 158 steamers, of 40,841 tons, and 7 barges, of 841 tons, were engaged in the river trade, the rest in ocean or coast navigation. There were 19 sailing vessels, of 246 tons, and 5 steamers, of 560 tons, built during the year.—The number of miles of railroad in the state in 1841 was 40; in 1851, 80; in 1861, 335. The mileage in operation in 1874, the names of the lines, and the termini of the completed portions are shown in the following table:
| LINES. | Termini. | Miles in operation in the state. | ||
| Baton Rouge, Grosse Tête, and Opelousas. | West Baton Rouge to Lombard, Pointe Coupée parish | 28 | ||
| Clinton and Port Hudson | Port Hudson to Clinton | 21½ | ||
| Morgan's Louisiana and Texas | New Orleans to Brashear City | 80 | ||
|
Main line to Raceland | 2¼ | ||
| Terrebonne to Houma | 15 | |||
| New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern | New Orleans to Canton, Miss. (206 m.) | 88 | ||
| New Orleans, Mobile, and Texas | Mobile via New Orleans to Donaldsonville (200 m.) | 93 | ||
| North Louisiana and Texas | Delta (opposite Vicksburg, Miss.) to Monroe | 72 | ||
| Pontchartrain | New Orleans to Lakeport, on Lake Pontchartrain | 6 | ||
| Texas and Pacific | Shreveport to Dallas, Texas (186 m.) | 20 | ||
| West Feliciana | Bayou Sara to Woodville, Miss. (27 m.) | 19½ | ||
| Total | 445¼ | |||
The entire route of the New Orleans, Mobile, and Texas railroad, as contemplated in the charter, extends to Houston, Texas, with branches from Vermilionville to Brashear City and Shreveport; the ultimate terminus of the North Louisiana and Texas line is Shreveport, making the entire length 170 m.; while the Texas and Pacific railroad is intended to extend to San Diego, Cal. There are several short canals in the vicinity of New Orleans, connecting the navigable waters of the rivers and lakes.—On Nov. 1, 1873, there were 8 national banks, with an aggregate capital of $4,150,000; and on Jan. 1, 1874, 2 chartered and 4 free banks working under state law, with an aggregate capital of $4,092,300. These were all situated in New Orleans, in which city there are also a number of savings banks and insurance companies.—The government is administered under the constitution of 1868, which declares that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, who have resided in the state one year, are citizens of the state, and shall enjoy the same civil, political, and public rights and privileges, and be subject to the same pains and penalties; that citizens owe paramount allegiance to the United States; that the ordinance of secession is null and void; and that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, shall exist. It fixes the seat of government at New Orleans. The executive power is vested in a governor, lieutenant governor (ex officio president of the senate), secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and superintendent of public education, elected by the people for a term of four years. The governor and lieutenant governor must be citizens of the United States, and residents of the state for the two years next preceding their election. The governor is commander-in-chief of the militia, grants reprieves and pardons, and has a veto upon the acts of the legislature, which may be overcome by a two-thirds vote of both houses. He enters upon his office on the second Monday of January after his election. In case of the death, resignation, or inability to serve of the governor, the lieutenant governor performs the duties of the office. The salary of the governor is $8,000; of the treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and superintendent of education, $5,000 each; and of the lieutenant governor and secretary of state, $3,000 each. The legislative power is vested in a general assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representatives. The senators, 36 in number, are elected for four years, one half retiring biennially; the representatives, numbering not more than 120 nor less than 90 (present number, 107), hold office for two years. For senatorial purposes the state is divided into districts (at present 24) of as nearly equal population as possible, no parish being divided except Orleans, from each of which not more than two senators are chosen. The representatives are apportioned among the parishes and 12 representative districts of Orleans according to population, each parish having at least one. After the state census of 1875 and every ten years thereafter a new apportionment is to be made. Every qualified elector of the district may be a representative, and if 25 years of age a senator. The legislature meets annually on the first Monday of January, unless a different day is appointed by law, but no session can continue longer than 60 days. Members receive $8 a day during attendance, and while going to and returning from the seat of government. The house of representatives has the power of impeachment; the senate constitutes the court for the trial, a two-thirds vote being necessary for conviction. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, district courts, parish courts, and justices of the peace. The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction only, and consists of a chief justice (salary $10,000) and four associates (salary $9,500) appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate for eight years. They must be citizens of the United States, and must have practised law for five years, and the last three years before their appointment in this state. The state is to be divided every four years into not less than 12 nor more than 20 judicial districts (present number, 13), in each of which, except the parish of Orleans, which constitutes the first district, there is to be one district court, presided over by a single judge, having general jurisdiction in criminal cases, original jurisdiction in civil cases in which the amount in dispute exceeds $500 exclusive of interest, and appellate jurisdiction in civil suits from the parish courts where the amount in dispute exceeds $100 exclusive of interest. The district judges (salary $5,000) are elected by the people of. the respective districts for a term of four years, and must be citizens of the United States, over 25 years of age, residents of the state, and have practised law therein for two years next preceding their election. In the parish of Orleans there are seven district courts; the first has criminal jurisdiction in all except capital cases, the second exclusive jurisdiction in probate matters, the third exclusive jurisdiction of appeals from judgments of justices of the peace in general cases; the superior district court has exclusive jurisdiction to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, and quo warranto, and of all proceedings in which the right to any public office is in dispute, and exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings in which the state, the city of New Orleans, the board of metropolitan police, the board of school directors of New Orleans, or any corporation domiciled in that city, is interested, when the amount in dispute exceeds $100, besides appellate jurisdiction of judgments of justices of the peace in such cases; the other three have exclusive jurisdiction in general civil cases, not probate, when the sum in dispute exceeds $100 exclusive of interest. A superior criminal court has recently been created, with exclusive jurisdiction in cases of murder, treason, &c., in the parish of Orleans. In each parish a judge of the parish court is elected by the people for two years; these courts have jurisdiction in cases of misdemeanor when the accused waives a jury, of the probate of wills, &c.; original jurisdiction in other civil cases in which the amount in dispute is more than $25 and less than $500 exclusive of interest; and appellate jurisdiction of judgments of justices of the peace when the amount in dispute exceeds $10 exclusive of interest. In the parish courts there is no jury. Judges may be removed from office upon impeachment, or by the governor upon the address of two thirds of both houses of the legislature. Justices of the peace are elected by the people of the various parishes for two years, and have jurisdiction in civil cases when the amount in dispute does not exceed $100 exclusive of interest, and such criminal jurisdiction as may be conferred by law. All male citizens of the United States, except convicts, 21 years of age, who have resided in the state one year and in the parish ten days next preceding the election, are entitled to vote in the parish where they reside and at the precinct where they are registered. General elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, and the vote is by ballot. No one convicted of a heinous crime nor any defaulter in public funds can hold office, but no property qualification for office can be required. All officers, besides swearing to support the constitution and laws of the United States and of the state, and to discharge their duties faithfully, are required to make oath that they accept the civil and political equality of all men, and agree not to attempt to deprive any person or persons, on account of race, color, or previous condition, of any political or civil right, privilege, or immunity enjoyed by any other class of men. The militia consists of all able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and 45. The legislature is required to levy a poll tax of not exceeding $1—50 on every male inhabitant over 21 years of age, for school and charitable purposes. Amendments to the constitution must be proposed by two thirds of each house of the legislature, and subsequently ratified by the people. The present constitution fixes the seat of government at New Orleans, whence it cannot be removed without a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature. In Louisiana, unlike the other states, the civil and not the common law prevails. The code, of which the last revision was made in 1870, is based upon the Spanish law, which prevailed at the time of the cession to the United States, and upon the Code Napoléon. The separate property of a married woman cannot be sold by her husband, and she may administer it herself. All property acquired during marriage, the earnings of the joint or separate labor of husband and wife, and the revenues of the separate property of each, enter into community, and are equally divided between them. The principal grounds of divorce are adultery, condemnation to infamous punishment, habitual intemperance, cruel treatment, abandonment, and any misconduct that renders living together insupportable. Treason, murder, rape, and arson committed in the night upon a dwelling are punishable with death. Other punishments are fines and imprisonment for various terms. The rate of interest in the absence of stipulation is 5 per cent., but as high as 8 per cent. may be collected by special agreement. Louisiana is entitled to six representatives, and in common with the other states to two senators in congress, and has eight votes in the electoral college.—The valuation of property as reported in the United States census was as follows:
| YEARS. | ASSESSED VALUE. | True value of real and personal. | ||
| Real estate. | Personal. | Total. | ||
| 1850 | .... | .... | .... | $233,998,764 |
| 1860 | $280,704,988 | $155,082,277 | $435,787,265 | 602,118,568 |
| 1870 | 191,343,376 | 62,028,514 | 253,371,890 | 323,125,666 |
The diminution in value in the last decade is largely due to the emancipation of the slaves. The taxation not national in 1870 amounted to $7,060,722, of which $2,671,693 was state tax, $4,109,999 parish, and $279,030 town, city, &c. The public debt was $53,087,441, of which $25,021,734 ($22,560,233 bonded) was state debt, $1,326,635 ($847,526 bonded) parish, and $26,739,072 ($18,123,010 bonded) town, city, &c. The funded state debt includes bonds to the amount of $993,500 held by the educational funds, $198,000 by the redemption fund, $1,992,000 issued in payment of state subscription to railroad stock, $1,146,000 issued in aid of railroads and canals, and $4,838,933 lent to banks. The unfunded state debt includes $200,000 due the educational fund. The resources of the redemption fund amounted to $231,000. The taxable value of property in 1872 was $228,666,653 62, viz.: real estate, $180,108,225 83; live stock, $11,394,056; carriages and vehicles, $1,750,760; shares in vessels, $3,232,864; money lent or in possession, $1,871,463 60; capital invested in trade and commerce, $27,924,414 20; capital stock of banks and other corporations not exempt from taxation, $1,305,274 99; household goods and tools beyond the exemption, $1,077,595. The valuation in 1873 was $224,238,519 06, of which $146,781,402 was the valuation of the city of New Orleans. The rate of taxation was $2 15 on $100, viz.: $1 15 for interest, $0 20 for schools, $0 40 for the general fund, and $0 40 for the construction and repair of levees. The receipts, according to the report of the auditor, for the year ending Dec. 31, 1873, were $4,016,690 04, of which $3,246,959 77 were from taxes on property and polls, $47,876 55 from the tax on the Louisiana state lottery company, &c., $37,615 91 from the redemption of lands forfeited for taxes, $451,802 80 from licenses on trades, occupations, and professions, and the duty on auction sales, $202,884 56 from profits in the purchase of general fund warrants, $7,000 from the lease of the state penitentiary, and the rest miscellaneous. The expenditures during the same period were $3,696,912 92, of which $1,020,995 53 were for reduction of and interest on the debt, $314,450 81 for compensation and contingent expenses of the general assembly, $94,987 75 for outstanding legislative vouchers or warrants, $283,710 72 for salaries of judges, $193,037 55 for salaries of other public officers and employees, $49,435 39 for contingent expenses of the several state departments, $13,616 66 for rent of public offices, $549,200 for construction and repair of levees, $50,000 for the support of the insane asylum, $37,500 of the deaf and dumb asylum, $18,750 of the blind asylum, $120,000 for the support and $15,000 for the repair of the charity hospital, $28,050 on account of the state university, $151,540 50 to the state printer, $100,000 for arming, equipping, and maintaining the militia, $294,582 71 for the support of free public schools, and the rest miscellaneous. The actual bonded debt of the state, Jan. 1, 1874, was $22,308,800 (including $529,000 bonds belonging to the free school fund and $136,000 to the seminary fund), upon which the accruing annual interest was $1,535,328. Of this amount $7,960,000 was issued to defray the expense of building levees, $4,492,000 in payment of stock of railroad companies, $3,629,000 in aid of railroad and navigation companies, the rest for various purposes; $10,082,800 was issued before the adoption of the present constitution, and $12,226,000 subsequent thereto. The actual unfunded debt amounted to $2,074,380 36. The contingent funded debt was $4,803,683 33, consisting of bonds to the amount of $4,297,338 33 lent to the Citizens' bank, and $506,350 lent to the Consolidated bank, for which it is believed the state is fully secured. The contingent unfunded debt was $679,919 14, consisting of $479,919 14 due the general government under the deposit act, and $200,000 due the free school accumulating fund. Besides these sums the state, under existing acts, was liable to be called upon to issue bonds to the amount of $21,090,500, chiefly in aid of railroads. Of this amount $8,087,500 was under acts passed subsequently to the adoption of the amendment to the constitution in November, 1870, which declares “that prior to the first day of January, 1890, the debt of the state shall not be so increased as to exceed $25,000,000.” The act of Jan. 24, 1874, known as the “funding act,” authorizes the issue of “consolidated bonds,” bearing interest at the rate of 7 per cent. per annum, and payable 40 years from Jan. 1, 1874, to the amount of $15,000,000 if necessary, which are to be exchanged for all valid outstanding bonds of the state and all valid warrants drawn previous to the passage of the act, at the rate of 60 cents in consolidated bonds for $1 in outstanding bonds and warrants. A tax of 5½ mills on the dollar is levied annually for the purpose of paying the interest and principal of the consolidated bonds, and is declared by the act to be a continuing appropriation till the bonds are redeemed. The act also declares that the entire tax for state purposes, except the support of public schools, shall never exceed 12½ mills on the dollar, and that prior to 1914 the state debt shall not be directly nor indirectly increased beyond the sum of $15,000,000, and repeals and annuls all grants of state aid previously made that have lapsed or been forfeited.—The state institutions are the penitentiary at Baton Rouge, the insane asylum at Jackson, the charity hospital at New Orleans, and the institutions for the education of the deaf and dumb and of the blind at Baton Rouge. The convicts at the penitentiary are leased to a corporation, and are chiefly employed in the building and repairing of levees, the state deriving a small revenue from the lease. The number on May 9, 1874, was 410, of whom 395 were males and 15 females, 83 whites and 327 colored. The number of inmates of the insane asylum during 1873 was 186 (87 males and 99 females); remaining at the close of the year, 165, of whom 76 were males and 89 females, 130 whites and 35 colored. The asylum buildings are inadequate, and not well adapted to its needs. The charity hospital was founded by a Spanish resident of New Orleans in 1786. The present building, which has capacity for 630 beds, was erected in 1832 by the aid of a grant from the state and a gift from the state of Pennsylvania, with the assistance of benevolent individuals. The hospital is open to all applicants. The number of patients treated during 1873 was 5,660; remaining at the close of the year, 543. The institution for the deaf and dumb has a printing office and bookbindery connected with it for the instruction of the pupils, by whom a bi-weekly paper is published. The number in attendance during 1873 was 54 (34 males and 20 females). The institution for the blind was separately organized in 1871, having previously been connected with that for the deaf and dumb, and occupies leased buildings. It has an industrial home connected with it, which is intended to provide the blind with board and lodging, and to supply them with work by means of which they may support themselves. The number of pupils in attendance during 1873 was 26 (17 males and 9 females); remaining at the close of the year, 21.—The constitution requires the legislature to establish in each parish at least one free public school, and to provide for its support by taxation or otherwise, and prescribes that all children from 6 to 21 years of age shall be admitted to the public schools and other institutions of learning sustained or established by the state, without distinction of color. The public schools are governed by the provisions of the act of March 16, 1870, and subsequent amendments. The state is divided into six divisions, the parish of Orleans forming the sixth. For each division a superintendent of public education is appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, for three years. The division superintendents, with the state superintendent of public education, constitute the state board of education, which chooses a secretary, and appoints for two years a board of school directors, who serve gratuitously, for each incorporated city and town of from three to five members, and for each parish except Jefferson and Orleans of five members. Jefferson has a board of directors for that portion on each bank of the Mississippi, and the board of directors for the parish of Orleans and city of New Orleans consists of 20 members, one from each representative and one from each municipal district, together with the city administrator of finance and the superintendent of public education for the sixth division ex officio. The school fund consists of the proceeds of lands granted by the United States for the support of public schools and of escheated estates, with any property that may be bequeathed for school purposes. The interest upon this fund at 6 per cent. per annum, the rents of any unsold lands, and the interest of the United States trust fund deposited with the state under the act of congress of June 23, 1836, are appropriated for the support of public schools. According to the report of the state superintendent for the year ending Dec. 31, 1873, there were 272,334 persons in the state of school age; number of school districts, 483; of public schools, 864; teachers, 1,296 (685 males and 611 females); pupils enrolled, 59,030; average salary of teachers per month, $42 50; average number of months each school was taught, 4½; estimated value of school property, $661,962; number of school houses built during the year, 101. So far as the grade was reported, there were 3 high schools, 1 high grammar, 81 grammar, 124 intermediate, and 331 primary; of the pupils, so far as distinction of sex was given, 28,371 were males and 27,089 females. The average daily attendance in 34 parishes was 35,061. No public schools were reported in seven parishes, and in six of these neither public nor private schools were returned. The whole number of private schools reported was 296, with 794 teachers and 21,434 pupils. The receipts for the support of public schools, including $91,917 19 on hand at the beginning of the year, were $678,473 52, of which $254,249 50 were from state apportionments, $204,995 94 from corporate authorities, $44,883 78 from sale of school lands, $34,600 from appropriation for salaries of officers and office expenses, and $47,727 11 from other sources. The disbursements, of which $144,323 74 were paid in school certificates, were $723,826, of which $551,460 92 were for teachers' wages, $42,966 62 for rent of school houses, $13,419 88 for repairs of school houses, $13,966 35 for purchase of school furniture, $4,038 07 for school-house sites, $14,995 39 for building school houses, $30,632 04 for fuel and incidentals, $802 40 for school apparatus, $16,944 33 for previous indebtedness, $34,600 for salaries and contingent expenses of superintendents and other officers; balance on hand at the close of the year, $98,971 26. The number of schools of all classes in 1870, according to the United States census, was 592, with 926 male and 976 female teachers, 29,854 male and 30,317 female pupils, and an annual income of $1,199,684. This number includes 178 public schools, 36 classical (8 colleges and 28 academies), 4 professional (1 law, 2 medical, and 1 theological), 8 technical (4 commercial, 1 for the blind, 1 for the deaf and dumb, and 2 of art and music), 293 day and boarding, and 73 parochial and charity. The following table exhibits the statistics of the principal colleges of the state for 1872-'3:
| NAME. | Location. | Date of organization. |
Denomination. | Number of instructors. |
Students. | Volumes in libraries. |
| Centenary | Jackson | 1825 | Methodist Episcopal, South | 5 | 124 | 5,200 |
| St Charles | Grand Coteau | 1852 | Roman Catholic | 13 | 82 | 4,000 |
| Louisiana state university | Baton Rouge | 1860 | None | 13 | 140 | 11,611 |
| St. Mary Jefferson | St. James | 1861 | Roman Catholic | 14 | 112 | .... |
| Straight university | New Orleans | 1869 | Evangelical | 15 | 429 | 1,500 |
| New Orleans university[1] | New Orleans | 1873 | Methodist Episcopal | 7 | 323 | 1,000 |
- ↑ 1873-'4.
The Louisiana state university was established by act of the legislature in 1855, on grants of land made by the United States at various times between 1806 and 1827 for the establishment of “a seminary of learning.” It was opened at Alexandria for the reception of cadets in January, 1860, under the superintendence of Col. (now Gen.) W. T. Sherman, but its operations were interrupted during the civil war. It was reopened in October, 1865. On Oct. 15, 1869, the building was burned, and in the following November the institution was removed to temporary quarters in the asylum for the deaf and dumb at Baton Rouge. The university embraces a preparatory and an academic department, a special school of civil engineering, and a commercial school. The academic department comprises literary, scientific, and optional courses. The organization is military, and there are daily drills and parades. The apparatus in the various scientific departments is valuable, and the collections of specimens in natural history are extensive. Applicants for admission are required to be at least 15 years of age. A legislative act of 1870 provided for the education and maintenance of two indigent youths from each parish, and 20 from New Orleans, who after remaining four years at the university are required to teach two years in the state; but since 1873 the necessary appropriation has not been made. The professors of engineering, mineralogy, geology, botany, and zoölogy are required to make surveys of the state, and four annual reports on its botany, geology, and topography have been submitted. Straight university is open to all without distinction of race or sex, and embraces seven departments, viz.: elementary; academic, designed to impart a higher English education, or to furnish a preparation for college; normal, for the training of teachers; collegiate, which comprises the usual classical course of four years and an agricultural course of three years; law, medical, and theological. The New Orleans university, likewise making no distinction of race or sex, has preparatory, normal, collegiate, and theological departments. The other colleges in the table have a preparatory and a collegiate course. Leland university (Baptist), in New Orleans, was incorporated in 1870. By the aid of the freedmen's bureau and of benevolent individuals grounds were bought and a building was erected, which was opened for the reception of students in November, 1873. A preparatory and a theological department are in operation, and others are to be organized. The university of Louisiana, in New Orleans, was chartered in 1847. The law department was organized the same year; in 1874 it had 4 professors and 464 alumni. A medical school, organized in 1834, became the medical department; in 1873-'4 it had 10 professors and instructors, 210 students, of whom 49 graduated in medicine and 11 in pharmacy, and a library of 2,000 volumes. The students have the use of the charity hospital as a school of practical instruction. The other departments of the university originally contemplated have not been organized. The New Orleans dental college, organized in 1867, in 1873-'4 had 8 professors and 18 students. By the act of congress of July 2, 1862, for the establishment of colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts, 210,000 acres of land were donated to the state, which has been sold for $182,630. This fund has been bestowed upon the “Louisiana state agricultural and mechanical college,” organized by the act of April 7, 1874. It has been opened temporarily in New Orleans, but a permanent site in the country is contemplated. The act of organization appropriates $10,000 for the purchase of land and the erection of buildings, and pledges further appropriations for those purposes to the aggregate of $50,000. The college embraces a preparatory course of two years and agricultural and mechanical schools, in each of which the regular course is four years. Those who complete this course receive the degree of doctor of philosophy. There are professorships of chemistry and of natural philosophy and mathematics as applied to agriculture and the mechanic arts, of civil, mechanical, and maritime engineering, and of modern languages and literature; a tutor in geometrical, topographical, and free-hand drawing; an instructor in maritime science and practice (to be taught on a school ship); and tutors in telegraphy, wood engraving, and photography for female pupils. Students are admitted without distinction of race or color, and tuition is free to those who intend to enter the ministry or are nominated by members of the legislature, each senator having the right to nominate two and each representative three. Applicants must be at least 12 years old, residents of the state, and competent to enter upon the studies of the preparatory course.—The number of libraries returned in the census of 1870 was 2,332, containing 847,406 volumes, of which 1,852, with 584,140 volumes, were private. Of those not private, 2, with 64,000 volumes, were state libraries; 1, with 10,000 volumes, city; 61, with 31,583 volumes, court and law; 34, with 37,050 volumes, school, college, &c.; 173, with 40,225 volumes, Sunday school; 183, with 60,008 volumes, church; and 26, with 20,400 volumes, circulating. There were 92 newspapers and periodicals, having an aggregate circulation of 84,165, and issuing 13,755,690 copies annually, viz.: 7 daily, circulation 34,395; 1 tri-weekly, circulation 800; 8 semi-weekly, circulation 8,500; 75 weekly, circulation 39,970; and 1 monthly, circulation 500. They were classified as follows: agricultural and horticultural, 1; commercial and financial, 2; illustrated, literary, and miscellaneous, 3; devoted to nationality, 1; political, 85. About 20 are printed wholly or partly in French. The number of church organizations was 638, with edifices, sittings, and property as follows:
| DENOMINATIONS. | Number of edifices. |
Number of sittings. |
Value of property. |
| Baptist | 208 | 56,140 | $346,500 |
| Christian | 1 | 800 | 3,000 |
| Congregational | 9 | 4,650 | 56,200 |
| Episcopal | 32 | 17,100 | 160,800 |
| Jewish | 5 | 2,200 | 75,000 |
| Lutheran | 3 | 1,650 | 28,000 |
| Methodist | 202 | 52,990 | 351,775 |
| Presbyterian | 34 | 14,100 | 185,450 |
| Reformed (late German Reformed) | 2 | 800 | 2,000 |
| Roman Catholic | 102 | 62,525 | 2,836,800 |
| Unitarian | 1 | 1,000 | 3,000 |
| Total | 599 | 213,955 | $4,048,525 |
—The French after their establishment in Canada explored the Mississippi to the sea in 1682, but made no settlement near its mouth before 1699, when Iberville founded his first colony at Biloxi, now in Mississippi. In 1702 settlements were made on Dauphine island and at Mobile, now in Alabama. At this time and for 60 years afterward the Perdido river was the eastern boundary of the province of Louisiana. New Orleans, the first permanent settlement within the present limits of the state, was founded in 1718, and became the seat of the colonial government, transferred from Mobile, in 1722. In 1717 the province of Louisiana was granted, with extensive powers and privileges, to a corporation known as the “Western Company,” or “Company of the Mississippi.” Notwithstanding the disastrous failure of John Law's “Mississippi scheme,” with which this company was intimately connected, the population and general prosperity of Louisiana were greatly advanced under its proprietorship, which continued for 15 years. Its charter was surrendered to the crown in 1732. The French remained in possession of Louisiana till 1762, when they ceded it to Spain. Little improvement was effected under the new rule, which was never popular. In 1800 it was retroceded to France, which in 1803 sold it to the United States for the sum of $15,000,000. The region comprehended in this purchase included all the country W. of the Mississippi not occupied by Spain, as far N. as British territory, and comprises the whole or part of the present states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oregon, the Indian territory, and the territories of Colorado, Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming. The American flag was first raised in New Orleans on Dec. 20, 1803. By the act of congress of March 26, 1804, the territory was divided into two governments, that of Orleans including the present state of Louisiana W. of the Mississippi and a portion E. of that river, and that of Louisiana all the country N. and W. of it. On Feb. 11, 1811, an act of congress was passed to enable the inhabitants to form a constitution and state government; and by a subseqent act of April 8, 1812, the territory of Orleans was admitted into the Union under the title of the state of Louisiana. By the act of April 14, 1812, the remainder of the region E. of the Mississippi now under the jurisdiction of the state, which, claimed by Spain, had been taken possession of the year before by the United States, was added. On June 4, 1812, the territory theretofore known as Louisiana had its designation altered to Missouri. The share that Louisiana took in the war of 1812 is familiar to all. The great battle fought at New Orleans, Jan. 8, 1815, in which the British sustained a total defeat, was the crowning event of the period, and the last hostile engagement between the two nations. New constitutions were framed in 1845 and 1852. The vote of the state at the presidential election in 1860 was: for Breckinridge, 22,681; Bell, 20,204; Douglas, 7,625. Soon after the election of Lincoln became known the governor issued a proclamation convening the legislature for Dec. 10. This body met at the appointed time, and on the following day passed an act calling a convention of the people to meet Jan. 23, 1861. The election for delegates was held Jan. 8, and the convention passed an ordinance of secession on Jan. 26 by a vote of 113 to 17, having by a vote of 84 to 45 refused to submit the question to the people. The vote for delegates, subsequently published under the auspices of the secessionists, stood 20,448 in favor of secession to 17,296 against. On March 21 the constitution of the Confederate States was ratified in convention by a vote of 101 to 7; ordinances were also passed transferring to the confederacy all fortifications, arsenals, lighthouses, &c., within the state. On Jan. 10 Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on opposite banks of the Mississippi, 75 m. below New Orleans, and commanding the approach to that city, had been taken possession of by state troops, and about the same time Fort Livingstone on Grande Terre island, Barataria bay, and Fort Pike at the entrance of Lake Pontchartrain, were also occupied. The arsenal at Baton Rouge was seized on Jan. 11, with 50,000 stand of small arms, a number of cannon, and considerable ammunition; and the United States mint and custom house at New Orleans, with a large sum of money, were seized on the 31st. The first military movement of importance in the state was the capture of New Orleans. The federal fleet consisted of 47 armed vessels, with 310 guns and mortars, under command of Capt. (afterward Admiral) Farragut; the land forces were commanded by Gen. Benjamin F. Butler. The fleet reached the vicinity of Forts Jackson and St. Philip on April 17, 1862, and found the river defended also by an ironclad carrying 16 guns, the formidable ram Manassas, and a number of gunboats, fire ships, chains, and other obstructions. After several days' bombardment and the removal of some of the obstructions, Capt. Farragut ran past the forts on the 24th with some loss, destroying the confederate fleet, and reached New Orleans the next day. On the 28th the forts surrendered, and on May 1 Gen. Butler took possession of the city, the confederates under Gen. Mansfield Lovell having abandoned it. Forts Pike and Wood at the entrance of Lake Pontchartrain were also taken. On the 7th Baton Rouge was reduced by the fleet, and on Aug. 5 an attack of the confederates on the Union force stationed here was repulsed, with a Union loss of 90 killed and 250 wounded; the confederate loss being probably about the same. On Dec. 14 Gen. Banks superseded Gen. Butler, who turned over to him 17,800 men, including three regiments and two batteries of colored troops. Early in January, 1863, attempts were made to open the Atchafalaya, but the forces were withdrawn to assist Admiral Farragut in running past Port Hudson, which he accomplished on the night of March 13-14. A movement was again begun on the Atchafalaya early in April; Opelousas was occupied on the 20th, and on May 2 the Atchafalaya was open to the Red river. On May 5-9 an advance was made to Alexandria. All the state except the N. W. corner was now in possession of the federal forces. Port Hudson was invested on the land side on May 25, and was besieged until July 8, when it surrendered, Gen. Banks having in the mean time made two ineffectual assaults. Early in June the confederates under Gen. Richard Taylor reoccupied Alexandria and Opelousas, and on the 22d took possession of Brashear City, and overran the adjacent country; but after the fall of Port Hudson they retired W. of the Atchafalaya, evacuating Brashear City on July 22. The Red river expedition, which took place the following year, had Shreveport for its objective point. Gen. Banks was aided by a force under Gen. A. J. Smith and by a fleet under Admiral Porter. The rendezvous was at Alexandria, which was occupied March 16, 1864. The fleet, embarrassed by low water, could with difficulty get beyond Grand Ecore, 100 m. from Shreveport. The troops advanced to Sabine Cross Roads, where they were met, April 8, by superior forces under Gens. Kirby Smith, Taylor, Mouton, and Green, and compelled to retreat, with heavy loss. The next day the enemy attacked again at Pleasant Hill, but were repulsed with loss. From this point the federals continued to retreat, somewhat harassed by the confederates, to Alexandria, where the fleet was detained by the rapids. At length (May 13) the vessels were all got over, through the engineering skill of Lieut. Col. Joseph Bailey, when the town was evacuated and accidentally burned. Soon after Gen. Banks was superseded by Gen. Canby. On Dec. 4, 1862, the first two congressional districts, comprising Orleans and adjacent parishes in the delta of the Mississippi, being in the possession of the Union forces, an election was held by order of Gen. Butler, those being entitled to vote who were qualified electors under the laws in force prior to secession, and who since the capture of New Orleans had taken the oath of allegiance. In the first district Benjamin F. Flanders and in the second Michael Hahn, both unconditional Union men, were elected, and they were subsequently admitted to their seats. Local courts were early organized by the military governors in New Orleans, and in December, 1862, a provisional court for the state, with one judge having full powers at law, in equity and admiralty, and in criminal matters, was organized by President Lincoln. In April, 1863, judges of the supreme court were appointed by the same authority. The affairs of the state continued under the control of the military, aided by these instrumentalities. On Feb. 22, 1864, in accordance with the proclamation of the president of Dec. 8, 1863, an election for state officers was held, the portion of the state within the federal lines comprising 11 parishes and parts of 6 others, having, in 1860, 233,185 inhabitants, and lying mainly in the delta E. of Bayou Teche, and along both banks of the Mississippi as far up as Baton Rouge. Qualified electors under the laws existing prior to secession, who had taken the oath of allegiance and sworn to abide by the laws and proclamations relating to slavery, were permitted to vote. Refugees and soldiers were allowed to vote in the precincts where they happened to be. Michael Hahn was elected governor, the whole number of votes cast being 11,414, and was inaugurated March 4. On the 15th he was invested by the president with the powers of a military governor. On March 28 an election of delegates to a constitutional convention was held. This body sat from April 6 to July 23, and adopted a constitution abolishing slavery and providing for the education of both colors, which on Sept. 5 was ratified by the people by a vote of 6,836 to 1,566. Five congressmen (Unionists) were at the same time chosen, who however were not admitted to seats; and a legislature was elected almost unanimously in favor of a free state, which subsequently ratified the 13th amendment to the constitution of the United States and chose presidential electors; but the vote of the state was not counted, nor were the senators admitted to seats in congress. On March 4, 1865, Gov. Hahn, who had been elected one of the United States senators, resigned, and was succeeded by Lieut. Gov. Wells, who on Nov. 6 was reëlected. The legislature chosen at the same time, which was almost unanimously democratic, elected United States senators, who were not admitted to seats. On July 30, 1866, a riot occurred in New Orleans, which created much excitement throughout the country, and in which many lives were lost. The occasion was the reassembling of the constitutional convention of 1864, which had adjourned subject to the call of its president, and the powers of which it was asserted by some had not expired. Under the reconstruction acts of 1867 Louisiana was with Texas created the fifth military district, and placed in charge of Gen. Sheridan, who assumed command March 19. On June 3 he removed Gov. Wells, and B. F. Flanders was appointed in his stead. A registration of voters was had under the provisions of the reconstruction acts, and 45,218 white and 84,436 colored voters were enrolled. In August Gen. Sheridan was removed by President Johnson, and the command devolved upon Gen. Mower until the arrival of Gen. Hancock, Nov. 29. An election to decide the question of a convention and for delegates was held Sept. 27 and 28, when 75,083 votes were cast in favor of and 4,006 against a convention. This body met in New Orleans Nov. 23, and remained in session till March 9, 1868, agreeing upon a constitution, which was ratified at a popular election held April 17 and 18 by a vote of 66,152 to 48,739. At the same time Henry C. Warmoth, republican, was elected governor, and a legislature republican in both branches was chosen. In March Gen. Hancock was removed, and Gen. R. C. Buchanan was appointed in his place. On June 25 an act of congress was passed admitting the state to representation; and on the 29th the state legislature met, and subsequently ratified the 14th amendment and elected United States senators. Gov. Warmoth was inaugurated July 13, and the same day the government was transferred to the civil authorities. At the ensuing presidential election most of the colored voters remained away from the polls through alleged apprehension of violence from the whites, and the democratic electors received a large majority. The 15th amendment to the constitution of the United States was ratified by a vote of 18 to 3 in the senate on Feb. 27, 1869, and of 55 to 9 in the house on March 1. The state election of 1872 occurred on Nov. 4, William P. Kellogg, republican, and John McEnery, democrat, being the candidates for governor, and at the same time presidential electors were voted for. Immediately afterward serious trouble arose from charges of fraud and illegality in the election, and from the existence of boards of returning officers in the interest of each candidate, both claiming to be legal. By the one the state ticket headed by Kellogg and a legislature largely republican, and by the other McEnery and a democratic legislature, were declared elected. As to presidential electors, one board of canvassers returned that the Grant and Wilson ticket had a majority of 14,634; the other board returned that the Greeley and Brown ticket had a majority of 6,492. In counting the electoral votes (February, 1873), congress threw out both returns from Louisiana and so the state cast no official vote for president. In January, 1873, both claimants for the governorship took the oath of office, and both legislatures assembled; but Kellogg having been recognized by the federal executive, active opposition soon ceased. On Sept. 14, 1874, Kellogg's opponents in New Orleans, under the lead of D. B. Penn, lieutenant governor on the McEnery ticket, rose in arms, and on the following morning took possession of the state house, Kellogg seeking refuge in the custom house. The president, on the call of Kellogg, issued a proclamation on the 15th commanding the Penn party to disperse within five days, and troops were ordered to New Orleans. Penn accordingly disbanded his forces, and on the 19th Kellogg returned to the state house and resumed the government.